Even though Microsoft's XNA Game Studio tools lower the hurdles for amateur developers, you still need programming experience. I don't have any.

But Electronic Arts thinks it has a solution with Sims Carnival. You needn't know a programming language; just apply your creativity to their already-built toolsets. Currently in beta, I hopped on the Sims Carnival website to see what people have created.

Even the most promising titles available on Sims Carnival need iteration time before they'll become tangibly fun to most gamers, but some show promise.

Featured on the front page, for example, is "Blobular," which was clearly inspired, note-for-note, by "Loco Roco." Rip-off or not, however, it's encouraging that the Sims Carnival toolset even allows for something this complex to develop.

I was a little scared upon first booting up Sims Carnival. It seemed like the most popular games were graphic-variations on the same kissing game, a game that also happens to be impossibly hard. The players bragging about pulling off the kiss must have far more patience than I do.

Below, I've compiled a list of my favorite games featured on Sims Carnival so far, based on my hour or so perusing the site.